


Vampire Henry Stories

by phantomthief_fee



Series: BATIM Drabbles [12]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Originally Posted on Tumblr, Vampire Henry AU, Vampire Henry Studio AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-11 22:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16861102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: Stories for rosebloodcat's Vampire Henry AU





	1. Chapter 1

**[rosebloodcat](https://rosebloodcat.tumblr.com/) asked: Umm... I know you like my VampireHenry AU(s), so I was wondering... Would you mind writing something for it for me? I have no particulars for what you write, and I like seeing other people's takes on stuff I make. Maybe something for the Main AU, please?**

When Henry woke up tied to a pole, face to face with the inky creature that had once been Sammy Lawrence, the only thing he could think about was how hungry he was. It was probably a good thing Sammy wasn’t human because if he had been, Henry would have jumped him in an instant. He hadn’t eaten before he’d come to the studio, thinking it would be a quick meeting. He’d assumed he’d be in and out, or something like that.

“Wait, you look familiar to me. That face.” Sammy leaned in close, close enough that their noses were practically touching.

“That’s because I used to work here,” Henry said flatly.

“Not now!” Sammy pulled back, evidently choosing to ignore Henry. “For our Lord is calling to us, my little sheep. Soon he will hear us. He will set us free.” He then turned and entered the recording booth. Henry waited for a moment, then broke the bonds holding him and collected his ax. He didn’t wait around to see what would happen to Sammy. He knew this was callous, but honestly, he was too tired to deal with this shit.

“I’m sorry, Sammy.” He said before walking away. He didn’t make it far before he was confronted with the ink demon. Henry didn’t hiss this time, although he was tempted. Instead, he turned tail and ran. For once, he was thankful for his heightened agility and stamina. He easily outran the ink demon, managing to slam a door behind him and throw a latch over it.

“Hello? Someone there?” An unfamiliar voice came from around the corner. Henry turned around slowly. He wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d encountered a lot of hostile ink creatures in the studio, and the last one that could talk had tied him to a pole. Thankfully, the person who came around the corner wasn’t an inky abomination, but a real-life version of Boris the Wolf.

“Boris?” Henry whispered, eyes widening. Boris stared at him for a moment, then launched himself across the room and wrapped his arms around Henry’s shoulders, starting to loudly sob.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Henry patted the toon’s back. “There’s no need to cry, big guy.”

“I’m j-just so glad someone actually made it past Sammy,” Boris said.

“It’ll take more than him to keep me down.” Henry laughed ruefully. He knew that better than anyone.

“S-Sorry.” Boris drew back, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve just seen so many other employees die because of him.” Boris then paused, now getting a proper look at the old animator.

“Wait…Who are you?” He asked. “You look a bit young to have worked here.”

“I’m Henry.” Henry purposefully avoided answering the question of why he looked so young. That was a conversation he didn’t particularly want to have at the moment. 

Boris’ eyes widened. “Henry?” He asked. “Henry as in co-founder Henry Evans?”

“That’s me.” Henry nodded. “Why?”

“Oh gosh. No wonder Joey’s been so angry.” Boris began wringing his hands. 

“So Joey is here.” Henry nodded solemnly. “I’m guessing he did all of this.” He gestured vaguely around. Boris nodded, wrapping his arms around Henry again. 

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Henry assured him, patting Boris’ head. “Really. I’ll be fine.” Boris withdrew, looking Henry over. Slowly, his pie-cut eyes widened. 

“You aren’t human, are you?” Boris whispered. Henry’s shoulders slumped. 

“No. I’m not.”

“Well, I guess that’s probably good.” Boris smiled nervously. “No human could survive this place.” Henry sighed and nodded. For a few moments, there was only silence between the two of them. 

“Do you wanna meet Bendy and Alice?” Boris finally asked. 

“They’re here too?” Henry supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. After all, he’d seen weirder.

“They’ll be real happy to see you!” Boris perked up at the thought. “We’ve been hoping someone would come back and be able to stop Joey. Most…Most people haven’t made it.” He deflated a bit. “We really thought Sammy would make it.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Henry patted his back, smiling reassuringly. Boris smiled back at him, and led him to the safehouse. 


	2. Chapter 2

**[rosebloodcat](https://rosebloodcat.tumblr.com/) asked: Hello again. Um, I have another writing request for my Vampire Henry AU. But this time, it's for the VHStudio. I was wondering if I could see your take on how that AU started out. Like, Henry getting dragged back to the studio, his argument with Joey, and possibly him getting the "new" job as the Studio's Assistant Director. You don't have to do it if you don't want to!**

Sorry this took so long. I got a little busy. But this was a lot of fun. I love your au.

* * *

When Henry had returned to the town his old studio was in, he’d assumed he wouldn’t have any contact with his old coworkers. He’d been out all night and he just wanted to go home and sleep until sundown. Unfortunately, life seemed to have other plans for him. As he headed back towards his house, he heard someone calling his name. A very familiar voice. Henry’s heart would have stopped if it was still beating. Sammy Lawrence was running towards him.

“Shit,” Henry muttered, trying to walk faster.

“Henry! Henry Evans! Don’t you walk away from me!” Sammy caught up with him, grabbing him by the arm. 

“Oh! Sammy! It’s, uh, it’s good to see you.” Henry tugged his hat down over his eyes and looked over at Sammy. “Look, I’ve been out all night and I really want to get home-”

“You need to come with me.” Sammy started dragging him in the direction of the studio. 

“Sammy, I’m really tired.”

“Joey’s gone crazy. He won’t listen to anything any of us say.” Sammy continued, as though he hadn’t heard a word Henry had said. “You need to come talk some sense into him before he runs the studio into the ground.”

“Sammy, please-” 

“He installed an ink machine. An ink machine!” Sammy kept dragging. “Why on Earth would we need a machine for ink? It’s loud and it keeps leaking and every single department has flooded at least once.” 

The more Henry listened to Sammy, the more he wanted to talk to Joey about what exactly his friend had been doing to the studio. By the time they got there, Henry was absolutely livid. He stormed inside, pushing past everyone to get to Joey’s office. Everyone began to whisper at seeing Henry back. Henry hadn’t exactly left on good terms with Joey.

“Joey! We need to talk!” Henry slammed the door to Joey’s office open. Joey abruptly looked up from the paperwork he’d been handed. 

“Henry?” He got up, his face lighting up. “Henry! My God, it’s been so long! How are you? I didn’t think I’d ever see you back here.”

“I’ve spent the last 20 minutes listening to Sammy tell me about how you’re running this studio into the ground.” Henry said, folding his arms and avoiding eye contact. “What on Earth were you thinking, Joey?!”

“Oh, so Sammy brought you. Alright.” Joey nodded, frowning slightly. “But still, what are you doing back in town?” Why wasn’t Henry looking at him? Henry had always been very good about eye contact. 

“This isn’t about me, Joey, this about you.” Henry tugged at the brim of his hat. “What were you thinking with this  _ink machine_?” 

“Well, that’s actually a rather interesting story-”

“I don’t want to hear any bullshit, Joey. I want to know why you would do something so ridiculous!” 

Alright, this was definitely strange. Henry hadn’t even let him explain himself. Additionally, it seemed as though his old friend was trying to rush through the conversation while scolding him. And still, Henry was avoiding eye contact. Joey’s frown deepened as he watched Henry pace the office. Maybe it was time to push a few buttons. Surely that wouldn’t hurt.

“Oh, well, you know.” Joey waved a hand in a vague gesture. “It’s just a little black magic. Nothing too major. Sacrifices have to be made if I want to make our creations live.”

“That’s what this is about? Making our characters live?” Henry groaned and almost took his hat off in sheer disbelief. 

“Yes.” Joey nodded, pulling out his megawatt smile. “I’ve found ways to give them life! Real life! Physical bodies! It might take some souls, but who cares? Like I said, sacrifices have to be made.” For a moment, Henry was silent. 

“You’re not actually talking about sacrificing people, are you?” He asked, his voice quiet. 

“We’ll see.” Joey wasn’t actually thinking of sacrificing anyone. The thought was positively abhorrent to him. What would he do if he didn’t have his employees? He couldn’t keep the studio going without him. In an instant, Henry had Joey pinned up against a wall, his eyes burning an unearthly red and his fangs fully in view. 

“I will never let you harm anyone here.” He growled. In an instant, though, he realized exactly what Joey was trying to do. This was mostly due to the surprised and genuinely hurt look in Joey’s eyes. As though he was upset Henry would actually think he’d do such a thing. Henry clapped a hand over his mouth and made a beeline for the door. 

“Norman!” Joey yelled. “We got a runner!” As soon as the door opened, Norman reacted on instinct and grabbed Henry by the waist, hoisting him over his shoulder. Norman was not a small man, nor was he weak by any means, but even he had a bit of trouble keeping Henry on his shoulder. In the process, Henry’s hat had gotten knocked off, revealing Henry’s eyes to everyone who had gathered outside Joey’s office. Sammy was there, of course, as well as Wally, Thomas, and Grant. 

“Vampirism? You contracted  _vampirism_  while you were gone, Henry?!” Joey said, having absolutely no sense of tact. “I thought  _I_ was the occult guy!”

“Henry’s a vampire?” Wally’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”

“….Fuck.” Sammy muttered. “That’s new.” 

“I need more coffee.” Grant sighed, rubbing his temples. Thomas said nothing, just staring tiredly at Henry. All this attention was too much for Henry. It was the absolute worst case scenario. He’d hoped no one else would find out that he was a vampire. Now he had a steadily growing crowd of employees coming to stare at him. Finally, he managed to break free from Norman, scrambling down like a cat and beelining for the door. 

Unfortunately, the second he opened the door he flinched back. The sun had risen and Henry was stuck in the studio until nightfall. His first instinct was to scream and try to tear his hair out. He wondered if it would be worth it to risk a sunburn and just bolt. He didn’t want to stay and suffer the worried, pitying looks of his coworkers. He didn’t need their pity. He didn’t get that far, as Norman, Sammy, and Wally all dogpiled him and dragged him back. 

“C’mon, Henry,” Wally said. “We don’t wanna see you get hurt!”

“You’re a good guy. Don’t do something stupid.” Norman rumbled. 

“Let’s get him to the infirmary,” Sammy said as they hoisted him up. Henry struggled as they dragged him to the infirmary, but not enough to hurt them. Joey was there, waiting for him along with the studio doctor and Grant. They plopped Henry down on a cot and moved away. Henry hunched his shoulders and avoided looking at everyone. 

“Look,” Joey took a deep breath and handed Henry his hat. “I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. It was rude of me.”

“That’s right. It was rude.” Henry said. 

“And I hate to admit this, but running a studio is a lot harder than I had anticipated.” Joey continued, trying his best not to look like he was pleading. “I…I really need you back. If you agree, I’ll make you Assistant Director. You can have your own office and everything.” He looked over at Henry, and Henry could see just how desperate Joey was. 

“I’ll even try to find a way to turn you back.” Joey hastily added when it looked like Henry wasn’t going to take his offer. “You don’t seem happy like this. You aren’t, are you?”

“I’m not happy, no,” Henry admitted. 

“I’ll be a blood donor if you need it,” Wally said. “Y’know, like for feeding and stuff.”

“I can do that too.” Norman nodded, folding his arms. 

“Yeah, sure. Count me in.” Sammy said, almost shrugging. “If there’s anyone I’d do it for, it’d be you.”

“Well…I guess.” Henry found himself agreeing before he really understood what was going on. 

Joey’s face lit up. “Great! Grant? The forms?” 

Grant walked forward, holding a clipboard of forms, and handed it to Henry. From there, he was pushed into the cafeteria to fill said forms out. Henry stared down at the forms, starting to process what had just happened. Well, at least things were going to be interesting now. 


	3. Wally The Werewolf

So, [@askvampirehenryau](https://tmblr.co/mURxArQrrRbQLu8Pq9J2IUw) did a new picture,[ here](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/174764681245/askvampirehenryau-wally-on-the-night-of-his), of Wally turning into a werewolf for the first time and I wanted to write it. 

[@phoena12](https://tmblr.co/m4zzgIg40wGyqWrbVCrWeVw) helped a lot with some of the body horror in this. (And some funny parts)

* * *

Wally was not okay with turning into a werewolf. He absolutely did not want to turn into the kind of thing that had tried to kill him nearly a month before. But there was no cure for being a werewolf, so he didn’t really have a choice. At least he wasn’t alone on the matter, though. On the night of his first full moon, Henry came over to Wally’s house to help him through his transformation. Wally had been pacing the room before Henry showed up, biting his nails and wearing a hole in the carpet. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the doorbell. Wally peeked through the peephole, relaxing when he saw it was Henry. 

“Boy am I glad to see you.” Wally opened the door, letting Henry in. “Tell me you brought stuff that’ll help. Chains? A muzzle?”

“What? No.” Henry frowned. “You’re not turning into a monster, Wally.”

“Right, ‘course.” Wally smiled nervously. Still, it felt like he was turning into a monster. He was going to become the exact thing that hed almost killed him. 

“I brought a blanket and a bone for you to chew on.” Henry held up a bag and smiled reassuringly. 

“A bone?” Wally looked at him incredulously. 

“Dogs like bones,” Henry said. Wally rolled his eyes but stepped aside so that Henry could come in. It was getting late now. Wally was starting to get even more nervous. The moon would come out any moment now. 

“It’s going to be fine,” Henry assured him, sensing his discomfort and putting a hand on Wally’s shoulder. “I’m here for you, Wally.”

“Um, thanks.” This did make Wally feel a little better. He wasn’t alone in this. He would have someone here to help him through it. Suddenly, he began to feel a little strange. 

“Henry…I feel weird.” He said, looking down at his hands. His nails looked quite a bit sharper and he could see fur beginning to grow on his arms. He’d always had the body hair of a five-year-old girl, but that was quickly changing. Wally tried very hard not to start hyperventilating. His ears itched. He actually felt them begin to lengthen and twitch. His hearing was suddenly so much better than it had been before and it was terrifying. He could hear his own heart pounding in his chest. Why was it so loud? A whimper passed his lips as he felt his nose starting to change. 

“Are you alright?” Henry asked. 

“I-I’m fine!” Wally said quickly. “I’m okay. This is supposed to happen, right Henry?” Henry nodded, draping the blanket over Wally’s shoulders. 

“You might want to take off your clothes.” He suggested. “You don’t want to ruin them.”

“Thanks,” Wally mumbled. He felt a little awkward getting naked in front of Henry, but he didn’t really have the money to replace his clothes. He fumbled his way out of them, his movements hindered a bit by how sore his muscles suddenly were. He felt better once he had his clothes off, hiding under the blanket so that Henry wouldn’t have to watch him. Every muscle in his body burned as they contorted into their new form. His bones cracked and stretched and he could hear every bit of it. He could hear every change and it made him feel like crying. He tasted blood as his teeth began to sharpen and pierced his gums. He could smell the blood, the scent overwhelming his mind.

“H-Henr-” He started to call out Henry’s name, the sound growing lower in pitch, but ended up coughing up blood. He ended up growling and whining, blood dripping from his more canine lips. Henry knelt by his side, hand on Wally’s back. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Henry’s voice was the only thing keeping him together. Wally’s new primal instincts were telling him to run and hide, get away from all these new sounds and smells. 

“It…hurts…” Wally whimpered, hating the way his voice sounded. His claws were digging into the floorboards, leaving deep scores in the wood.

“I know, but it’ll be over soon.” Henry’s voice was calm and even. Wally almost had himself together when there was another eruption of pain on his tailbone. He could feel his spine lengthening out, forming a new tail which immediately went between Wally’s legs. He could feel the fur growing on the tail. 

_It’s kinda fluffy._

He couldn’t help but think that. Even despite his fear, he couldn’t help but notice how fluffy his new tail was. Oh God, was he turning into some kind of Pomeranian? Most of his body was covered in fur by this point, which got one thing out of the way. He opened one eye and looked down at his hands. They still looked mostly human, despite being covered and fur and being tipped with thick black claws. But when he turned them over, he saw paw pads. That was actually kinda cute. He poked one paw pad with a single claw, giggling as he did so. It was so squishy. It tickled a little too.

“You still okay?”

“I think it’s almost ove-” Wally began to speak but quickly devolved into whimpering as his feet started to stretch. He started counting in his head until it was over, then he let out a sigh of relief. There was one thing left to go. He could feel the bones of his face beginning to ache. Then, all of a sudden, his face jumped forward, forming a proper muzzle. And then it was over. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He collapsed to the ground and just laid there. Henry lifted up the blanket a little bit. 

“Looks like you’re done.” Henry smiled. Wally looked up at him with the most adorable green doggy eyes. Henry’s heart almost melted. The janitor looked like a kicked puppy. 

“You want the bone?” Henry pulled the bone out of his bag and held it out to Wally. Wally took it and started to gnaw on it sullenly. 

“I brought a ball, too.” Henry reached back into the bag. “If you want to play fetch.” Wally immediately perked up despite himself. Fetch actually sounded like a lot of fun. Henry tried very hard not to start laughing at seeing Wally’s ears prick up and his tail begin to wag. 

“You want the ball?” Henry asked, dipping into the puppy baby voice. Wally sat up, eyes wide. 

“Go get it!” Henry threw the ball across the room. Wally scrambled after it, skidding and stumbling as he tried to get the ball. A moment later, he returned with the ball squarely in his mouth, tongue lolling out a little bit. 

“Who’s a good boy!” Henry patted Wally’s head. Wally panted happily. He was! He was a good boy! Wait, why was he thinking like this? Who cares? He felt good. It felt good to have Henry scratching his head, especially behind the ears. Wally’s tail thumped against the ground, wagging vigorously as he rolled over. For a split second, Henry stared at Wally’s exposed fluffy belly. Then he reached out and rubbed it. Wally’s tail started wagging even harder. Henry tried to stifle a giggle. Oh, Sammy was definitely going to hear about this. 

“You’re a good boy.” Henry cooed. “Such a good boy!” Wally was so excited and he didn’t even know why. He was a good boy! He was the best boy!

Henry spent the night making sure Wally was happy and comfortable. This involved a lot of playing and Wally slobbering all over him. The first transformation was always the worst, from what he heard, and he didn’t want Wally to associate his transformation with pain and suffering. Wally wasn’t a monster. Henry didn’t want Wally to think of himself that way. He himself already had problems with that. The next morning, Wally woke up naked on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and chewing on an old beef bone. The house looked as though a storm had passed through it. 

“Henry?” He called out, voice hoarse. “What happened last night?” He didn’t remember much about the following night, which rather scared him.

“I helped you through your transformation.” Henry came into the living room, holding a tray with a large breakfast on it. 

“I didn’t…I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Wally asked quietly.

“I mean, you did teethe on me a little.” Henry laughed softly. “But no, you didn’t hurt me.” Wally eyed the breakfast, his stomach growly loudly. Henry set the tray on the coffee table and Wally dug in without a second thought. His butt really hurt and he wasn’t sure why. Probably something to do with sprouting a tail.

“You’re going to be okay.” Henry patted Wally’s back. Wally took a moment to swallow the food he’d been chewing and smile to himself. 

“Yeah. I think I will be.”


	4. Ghosts That We Knew

So, [@askvampirehenryau](https://tmblr.co/mURxArQrrRbQLu8Pq9J2IUw) did a new[ picture ](https://askvampirehenryau.tumblr.com/post/179354081435/my-bad-how-bout-a-ghost-henry-like-what-if-he)and I had a strong urge to write it. 

* * *

Joey hadn’t believed the people who’d told him Henry had died overseas. Got caught in the crossfire of some battle, they’d said. It was utter bullshit. His friend was too strong to die in some frivolous war, especially in such an unremarkable way. If Henry was going to die, he would go out saving someone or performing some heroic act. That was the kind of person Henry was. They were wrong. They had to be! Henry was stronger than that. He always had been. Even when the entire studio went to a funeral held by Henry’s family, Joey stood firm. 

“Joey, you were his best friend,” Sammy said, standing in front of Joey’s desk. “It would mean a lot to Linda if you would come.” He was all dressed for the funeral, decked out in a suit nicer than anything Joey had ever seen him wear before. 

“It’s a farce.” Joey wrinkled his nose. “I’m not going to go to a funeral for someone who’s not dead!” 

“Not this again.” Sammy rolled his eyes. “He’s dead, Joey. They sent his body back in a bag. Linda had to go identify him.” 

“Well, then she must be mistaken.” Joey snapped back. “Henry is too strong to die like that. He would never let himself be killed in battle.” Sammy opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“You know what? Fine.” He said. “Stay here. The rest of us are going to go support Henry’s family.” Then he turned and left, muttering something about Joey being ‘a deluded bastard’. Joey sat in his office, feeling triumphant. The others could mourn and wallow in grief, but he knew the truth. Henry wasn’t dead! He couldn’t be! 

But days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and there was no sign that Joey’s beliefs were justified. He received condolence cards from business partners, all of which he tore up and threw in the trash. Even Bertram seemed to be sympathetic. The park architect hadn’t yelled at him all week, speaking calmly and giving him pitying looks when he thought Joey wasn’t looking. It was driving him crazy! How dare they look at him in such a way! He wasn’t some pathetic creature in need of their pity! As more and more time passed, Joey grew more and more desperate to prove that he was right. He had to be right. Henry  _ **couldn’t**_ be dead. Finally, something seemed to snap in him. He could prove he was right. He just had to summon Henry’s ghost. 

“Joey, you’ve lost your mind!” Sammy said as Joey frantically scribbled on the floor of his office. He’d come in to complain about the stairwell being flooded again, only to find Joey beginning to construct another summoning circle. He’d been delving quite a bit into dark magic lately, something that worried everyone in the studio. Sammy and Norman were about the only people who had the courage to call him on it, though.

“No no, this isn’t like the other times,” Joey said, looking up at Sammy with wild eyes. He hadn’t been sleeping lately. “This will show you! You’ll see I was right! Henry isn’t dead! This will prove it!”

“You need to rest.” Sammy put a hand on Joey’s shoulder. “You’re not well, Joey.” Joey shrugged off Sammy’s hand, continuing to draw. 

“I’m getting Norman,” Sammy said. “When I get back, you’re going to get some rest, whether you like it or not.” He turned and left. Joey started to draw faster. He needed to work quickly if he wanted to get this done before they returned. Norman may have been his employee, but the projectionist had no qualms about throwing his boss over his shoulder like a sack of flour if the situation called for it. He was almost finished when he heard footsteps approaching his office. Hurriedly, he placed a picture of him and Henry in the center of the circle, fumbling for his pocket knife so he could get the necessary blood. The door opened just as he pricked his thumb, dripping the blood into the circle. 

“Alright, Mr. Drew, I think it’s time for you to take a break.” Norman strode in, picking Joey up. 

“No!” Joey thrashed about in Norman’s grip. “I have to show you all! I have to prove I’m right!” 

“Would you mind taking him to the infirmary?” Sammy asked. “I’ve gotta clean this up.” Norman nodded, starting towards the door. Joey struggled even harder, even trying to bite Norman. 

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT CIRCLE! I HAVE TO PROVE IT! I HAVE TO BE RIGHT!” He screamed. As Sammy took a step towards the circle, it suddenly began to glow. Instinctively, the music director took a step back. 

“What in the-?”

“It’s starting,” Joey whispered, clambering up so he could see over Norman’s shoulder. “Put me down! Put me down!” Norman turned around again, staring at the circle with more than a little bit of concern. Joey managed to wriggle out of Norman’s grasp, crawling his way over to the circle. 

All three men stared at the circle as a pillar of light erupted in the middle of it. Slowly…Slowly, something began to form in the middle. Joey was ecstatic. This was it! This would be his vindication! Soon enough, though, his excitement was extinguished. The figure in the middle of the circle was see-through, floating a few feet off the ground, and very clearly broken and bloody. His uniform was dirty and tattered, littered with bullet holes and stained liberally with blood. His eyes were haunted. Joey’s heart sank. 

“Henry?” Joey’s voice was small and quiet. This…This couldn’t be right. Henry couldn’t be dead! This was supposed to prove Henry wasn’t dead! The ghost of Henry Evans lowered his head so that his eyes met Joey’s. 

“Joey? Where am I? What happened?” The man standing before him was so different from the man Joey had known. This man was fearful, his eyes darting around the room as though he expected to be attacked at any moment. There were dark circles under his eyes and his shoulders were hunched. Where had Henry’s confidence gone? This man looked like a hunted animal. 

“You’re dead, Henry,” Sammy said. “You died at war. We went to your funeral.” He hardly seemed able to believe what he was seeing. Norman just stared, his expression unreadable. 

“He can’t be,” Joey said weakly.

“Dead?” Henry looked down at himself, taking in the sorry state of his uniform and the numerous bullet holes and blood stains. “But I…I was just…I was…” He trailed off, staring at his hands. 

“They said you got killed in the crossfire of some battle.” Sammy continued. 

“I…I remember a battle.” Henry nodded slowly. “We were advancing on an enemy camp. But…They knew we were coming. They were ready. They started firing on us. Colonel Rios yelled for me to get down and…And…” He stopped, a look of terror dawning on his face. “Oh, God. I died.”

“I’m sorry.” Sammy’s expression softened. Had Henry not been incorporeal, he might have put a hand on the animator’s shoulder. 

“Did they…Did they at least get my body back?” Henry asked. 

“They did,” Sammy assured him. “Your family got to bury you here.” That had at least given them some comfort. It had been obvious that the whole ordeal had been difficult for the Evans family. Henry’s parents had been devastated at having to bury their son, and Linda had been inconsolable about the death of her brother. The sight of the three of them huddled around that grave, all in black, wailing as the rain poured down was something Sammy was sure he’d remember for as long as he lived. 

“That’s good.” Henry allowed himself to smile slightly. “At least, that way, they got some closure.”

“This can’t be right. You can’t be dead.” Joey said. All the grief he’d been bottling up was flooding over him. All the feelings he’d refused to allow himself to feel were coming back in full force. This was supposed to prove him right. It was supposed to prove Henry  **wasn’t**  dead. 

“I’m sorry, Joey.” Henry knelt down so he was eye level with Joey, smiling wearily at his old friend. “I wish I could have come back to you. I would have liked to make cartoons with you again.” He reached out and patted Joey’s head, barely ruffling the smaller man’s hair. 

“Wait, no! Don’t go!” Joey said as Henry stood up, starting to fade away. “Don’t leave me! Please, don’t leave me! I can’t lose you again!”

“You’re going to be okay, Joey.” Henry kept smiling at him as his body began to fade. “You’ll make it through this. You’re stronger than you know, old friend.”

“Henry, no!” Joey reached futilely out for Henry, but his hands grasped only air. Henry was gone. Joey collapsed into the middle of the circle, crying out for Henry. Sobs wracked his body, his breath coming in great heaving gasps. He clutched the picture of Henry to his chest. 

“Joey, he’s gone.” Sammy crouched beside him, a gentle hand finding its place on Joey’s shoulder. “He’s been gone for a long time.”

“No! There has to be a way to get him back!” Joey shook his head fervently. “He can’t be gone! He can’t!”

“Come on, Mr. Drew, it’s time for you to rest.” Norman picked Joey up once more, but the gesture was gentler this time. Joey struggled weakly. All his strength seemed to have left him. He cried himself to sleep on the infirmary cot, still holding the photograph of Henry.


	5. Werewolf Shenanigans

Since it is spooky month, I decided I wanted to write more for @askvampirehenryau / @rosebloodcat ‘s [VHStudio AU](https://askvampirehenryau.tumblr.com/tagged/vhstudio+au). I wanted to do more werewolf shenanigans, the fun kind!

[This ](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/178212523005/probablyromanrpgideas-dickless-mic)post was consulted heavily. I will admit, I know very little about actual wolves, so Wally’s basically just a big dog. Or, a dog that thinks he’s big. I feel like it fits his personality. 

* * *

Adjusting to being a werewolf had been a little difficult for Wally. After all, the idea of becoming the thing that nearly killed him was terrifying. But Henry and his coworkers at the studio had made sure that Wally felt safe and helped him ease into this new part of his life. Once he’d gotten used to it, it really wasn’t too bad. He already had a lot of dog-like behaviors inherent in his personality, so there wasn’t all that much that changed. Despite the popular stories, Wally didn’t find himself butting heads with Henry, and later Joey. In fact, he felt a sort of kinship with them. He felt a kinship with everyone in the studio, really. He’d always been rather attached to the people at the studio, but after becoming a werewolf he found himself becoming rather protective over his studio friends. EXTREMELY protective. He’d genuinely growled a mail carrier who’d come to deliver some packages to the studio. That was another thing. He found himself extremely aware of when people came to the door in the studio, or his apartment, or any place he currently was. He felt the need to inform other people about the visitors as well. He’d be cleaning and suddenly he’d hear someone near the door and felt the need to yell to everyone about it. 

At the moment, Thomas was trying to teach him how to properly tighten the valves on the pipes. Wally was trying to listen, he really was, but he was so bored he could barely keep still. That was another thing that had come with his transformation. He had way too much energy now. It helped that his job was a manual one, involving a lot of physical labor, which did a lot to help work off some of his energy. But they were short-staffed at the moment, so Wally had to learn how to do some more mechanical tasks. Wally bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet, biting at his lip and trying to calm his racing mind. Suddenly, his head whipped around to face roughly where the studio’s front door was. Thomas sighed, knowing exactly what was about to come. 

“Hey. Hey. Thomas. Hey.” Wally started shaking Thomas’ shoulder. “There’s someone at the door. There’s someone at the door!”

“Yes, Franks. I can tell.” Thomas nodded, continuing to tinker with the pipes. He had a dog himself, so he was used to this kind of behavior. Half the studio had expected Thomas to be frustrated with Wally’s new traits, as he was with most people, but he actually softened towards the young janitor. 

“I think it’s the mailman. It smells like the mailman.” Wally’s gaze stayed firmly on the staircase. “I hate that mailman. He wears too much cologne and chews gum too loud.” A growl started in his throat, his whole body tensing. 

“Well, you certainly showed him not to mess with you.” Thomas reached over with one hand, patting Wally’s head. Wally relaxed at the pat of approval. It was probably useless to try and divert Wally’s attention back to the pipes, so Thomas suggested Wally go back to cleaning. 

“I’m sure some pipe’s burst by now.” Thomas waved a hand vaguely. Wally’s mood immediately soured as he grabbed his mop.

“I swear, if Joey doesn’t do something about these pipes, I’m outta here.” He grumbled.

About ten minutes later, Shawn found Wally digging in the trash, muttering to himself. 

“You lose your keys again?” Shawn asked. He sure hoped that Wally had lost his keys and wasn’t, in fact, digging in the trash for food. He’d seen dogs do it, but he’d been hoping Wally wouldn’t do something like that. 

“Someone threw away a perfectly good sandwich!” Wally said, holding up a half-eaten tuna sandwich. “I could smell it half a floor away! It’s wasteful!” Shawn just stared at him as Wally took an angry bite of the sandwich before going back to digging through the trash. 

“Okay. This is too weird.” Shawn muttered before turning and walking away. 

After a certain point, everyone just grew accustomed to Wally’s new weirdness. After all, a good portion of them were monsters too. He slept pretty much anywhere when he was tired, which wasn’t too bad. Wally had always had an uncanny ability to sleep in the strangest of places. He snored now, though, which drove Sammy crazy. They’d learned rather quickly that any game involving a ball was out of the question for company games because Wally, and later Boris and Norman, refused to let go of the ball once they’d gotten it. Wally also insisted upon trying a bite of his friends’ food, even if it had been proven that he didn’t like it. 

“C’moooon! Let me try a piece!” Wally whined as Thomas held his food out of the janitor’s reach. 

“The last time you ate some of my food you were crying in the bathroom for an hour,” Thomas said. He was notorious for liking extremely spicy food, which Wally typically couldn’t handle. 

“But I waaant some!” 

“I’m not giving it to you, Franks.” 

Wally stopped trying to reach the bowl but continued staring at Thomas. Thomas knew what was about to come and he was prepared for it. Wally widened his eyes, quivering his lip and making little whimpering noises. Wally’s babyface made him the ideal candidate for the puppy eyes. He could generally guilt a lot of the studio into giving him what he wanted this way. But Thomas, and some of the older studio members, had never once fallen for it. 

“Wally, the answer is still no.” Thomas held his gaze, his expression calm. “You can use the puppy eyes all you want, I ain’t budging.” Wally’s puppy eyes were quickly replaced by a quite adorable pout. 

“You’re no fun.” He muttered, folding his arms. 

When Joey finally got around to bringing the toons to life, under Henry’s watchful supervision, Wally was ecstatic. Mostly because Boris was also a wolf. Almost immediately after being brought to life, Boris latched onto Wally. Wally was overjoyed about this. It felt good to have another wolf in the studio. He liked having his friends around, but he needed a  _pack_. Ideally, he wanted a bigger pack, but Boris was a start. And later, Norman agreed to be turned into a werewolf as well. Wally hadn’t been sure about it, initially. 

“Are you sure?” He asked. “I mean, it’s pretty scary.” 

“I don’t want you to be alone.” Norman gave him a reassuring smile. “Having Boris is well and good, but you need someone else to help you with this.”

“Well, okay.” 

And so Norman had joined the ranks of wolves at the studio. His first few full moons were difficult, as Wally’s had been, but he handled it a bit better than Wally. He was altogether calmer about the situation, likely because his turning experience hadn’t been nearly as traumatic as Wally’s. When Boris learned of Norman’s transformation, he immediately swept him and Wally into a hug. 

“This is great! We get to be a pack!” He danced around the band room, the two men held tight. 

“It’s a small pack, but yeah, it’s a pack.” Norman smiled and nodded. 

“Buddy, you’re crushin’ me.” Wally gasped out. Boris quickly put them down, apologizing quietly. 

“They’re all adjusting to this rather well.” Joey mused as he and Henry watched from the projection booth. “I will admit, I was a bit worried. Mr. Franks has a tendency for dramatics.”

“It helps to have friends in these situations,” Henry said, a smile playing on his lips. He was glad he and the other members of the studio could be there to help Norman and Wally through this. They didn’t deserve to feel like monsters. They weren’t monsters. Now if only he could do something all the dishes the werewolves created after their transformations. Wally had always been able to put away a surprising amount of food, but it was ridiculous now. Oh well, it was a small price to pay.


End file.
